'Authorities foil attempt to smuggle 500,000 narcotic pills'

AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) personnel have foiled an attempt to smuggle over 500,000 illegal narcotic pills through the Aqaba Port and arrested the suspect, the Public Security Department (PSD) said on Sunday.

AND cadres received information that a large number of pills were planned to be smuggled into the Kingdom in a truck on a cargo ship arriving at the port, the PSD said in a statement.

When the ship docked, AND personnel searched the truck and found the 500,000 pills, the PSD said, adding that one suspect, an Arab national, was arrested.

The anti-drugs police then arrested a person who was allegedly supposed to receive the shipment in a sting operation. The suspect confessed to attempting to smuggle the pills into the Kingdom and then re-smuggle them into a neighbouring Arab country.